Door assembly



Aug. 14, 1962 W. A. DAVIS DOOR ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 13,1960 Fig. 3

INVENTOR. @0162.

Wilbur A. Davis BY M M55400} Em W. A. DAVlS DOOR ASSEMBLY Aug. 14, 1962INVENTOR. 670 654.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W a Anomeys Wilbur A. Davis BY @um and 2a Fig.5 24

Filed Jan. 13, 1960 United States Patent Office 3,648,898 Patented Aug.14, 1 962 3,048,898 HOUR ASSEMBLY Wilbur A. Davis, Mahoinet, E11,,assignor of ten percent to Rivard Brothers lino, Gienview, ilL, acorporation of Illinois, and assignor of five percent to Harley W.Trinkle and Margaret E. Trinkle, iointiy, Rantoul, ill.

Filed Jan. 13, 196i), Ser. No. 2,279 4 Claims, (Ci. --16) The presentinvention generally relates to the door assembly and more particularlyto an arrangement having a combination latch and hinge structure at eachedge thereof which will enable the door to be opened from either theleft or right hand edge by releasing the combination latch and hingestructure at one edge for releasing said edge of the door for swingingabout a vertical axis formed by the combination hinge and latchstructure at the other edge of the door.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a doorassembly having many utilities but disclosed in combination with arefrigerator cabinet whereby such a door may be pivoted about a verticalaxis at the either side of the door for ease of installation of therefrigerator and providing benefit derived from such an arrangement asto flexibility of installation.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide a doorassembly in accordance with the pre ceding object in which the door isprovided with a novel combination hinge and latch structure at each edgethere of which includes structural means for preventing accidentalrelease of both edges of the door unless the door is in a closedposition thereby eliminating the possibility of removing the door afterone edge has been disconnected and swung outwardly towards an openposition.

Yet another important feature of the present invention is to provide adoor assembly opena'ble from either edge thereof with the combinationlatch and hinge structure being easily operated, easy to install,efficient, well adapted for its purposes and generally inexpensive tomanufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numorals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet employing thedoor assembly of the present invention thereon:

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 illustrating the doorin open position and in dotted line position when opened from the lefthand edge;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view of the door andcabinet illustrating the structure of the combined hinge and latchassembly at one edge of the door;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view taken substantiallyupon a plane passing along section line 4-4 of FiGURE 3 illustratingfurther structural details of the combined hinge and latch structure;

FIGURE 5 is a plan sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 5-5 of FIGURE 3 illustrating furtherstructural details of the combined hinge and latch structure;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the hinge and latch structure when inclosed condition;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of the present invention with thelatching elements being shown in section;

FIGURE 8 is a View similar to FIGURE 7 but illustrating the bottomstructure of the hinge rod;

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of the structure when the elements areseparated;

FIGURE 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of the construction of FIGURE9;

FIGURE 11 is a plan view of the combined latch and hinge when ininterlocked condition;

FIGURE 12 is a detailed sectional view of a slighly modified form of theinvention including a tapered construction on the combined hinge andlatch element.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the present invention isillustrated in use in conjunction with a closure door It for a cabinet14 which may conveniently be in the form of a refrigerator but which maybe employed in various structural arrangements in which it is desirableto have the door 1% openable from either the left or the right side.Inasmuch as the structure of the present invention is duplicated on bothside edges of the door, the disclosure of the invention is limited to asingle side of the door with it being understood that the structure isduplicated on the opposite side. As illustrated, there is a handle 16adjacent the right hand side and a handle 18 adjacent the left hand sidewhich handles are of the pull type and which have an inwardly extendingend portion 20 extending through an aperture 22 in the outside panel 24of the door iii. The door t} is also provided with an inside panel 26and the cabinet 14 is provided with a door opening facing 23 or the likeand a suitable seal 29 may be provided between the door it) and thecabinet face 23 for sealing the door 10 in the desired manner.

The combined hinge and latch structure at each edge of the door includesan elongated vertically disposed rod 35 mounted for vertical slidingmovement within the door It} intermediate the panels 24 and 26 butcloser to the panel 26. At the center of the rod 39, the inwardlyextending end of the handle 13 is connected by virtue of a flattenedarea 32 on the rod 3t) which is actually in the form of a longitudinalnotch disposed on one side of the rod Disposed on the other side of therod 36 is a similar flattened area or notch 34 which is longer than thenotch 32.

A bracket 36 is supported on the panel 24 with screwthreaded members 38and includes a projecting part at the upper edge thereof guiding themovement of the rod 30 and also a bracket portion 42 at the lower endthereof which is received in the notch 34 for limiting the verticalsliding movement of the rod 30. The inwardly extending portion 21} ofthe handle 18 is pivotally supported from the bracket 42 by a pivot boltor pin 44 and a spacer 46. The outer end of the inwardly extendingportion 20' of the handle 18 is rounded as indicated by numeral 48 onthe lower end thereof and inclined as indicated by numeral 50 on theupper corner thereof whereby swinging movement of the handle 18 aboutthe axis of the pivot pin 44 will cause the rod 34} to reciprocate in anobvious manner within the limits defined by the notch 34 which receivesthe bracket 42. The handle 18 is also provided with a laterallyextending portion 52 receiving a coil spring 54 which also engages thepanel 24 and which urges the handle downwardly about the pivot pin 44 toa normal position with the rod 30 in elevated or raised position.

The upper end of the rod 30 is slidably received in an angle ironreinforcing bracket 56 and there is also pro vided a projecting supportbracket 58 received in a notch 60 in the rod 30 for further guiding andlimiting the movement thereof. This structure is also provided near thelower end of the rod 36' in that there is a supporting or reinforcingangle iron bracket or clip 62 supporting the rod 36 and the rod 30 isalso provided with a notch and supporting guide and bracket 64 similarto the structure 60 and 58.

In encircling relation to the lower end of the rod 30 is alongitudinally disposed coil spring 66 having the lower end engagingagainst the upper surface of the reinforcing angle iron 62 and havingthe upper end thereof engaging 3 a flange 68 rigid with the rod 30 thusnormally urging the rod upwardly.

The upper end of the rod 30 is provided with a reduced longitudinalextension 70 having flat parallel surfaces with the reduced thicknessbeing defined by cutting away opposed side edges or portions of the rod30. Thus, in effect, two recesses or notches are disposed on the upperend of the rod 30 and the bottoms of the recesses or notches are definedby inclined cam surfaces 72. This is for effecting latching engagementwith an angle iron latch member 74 rigidly secured to the door face 28in any suitable manner and having bifurcated end portions 76 defined bya notch or slot 78 extending inwardly from the inner end thereof withthe inner end of the notch 78 being enlarged into circular formdesignated by numeral 8d The outer edge of the furcations '76 areinclined as deslgnated by numeral 82 for engagement with thecorresponding inclined surfaces 72 for forcing the rod 3% downwardly andpermitting the rod 30 to be aligned with the circular opening 80 afterwhich the spring 66 will urge the rod 30 upwardly into the circularopening 80 thus latching the rod 30 to the latch member 74. Thethickness of the extension 70' is slightly less than the width of theslot or notch 78 permitting removal and insertion thereof. However, whenthe shaft or rod 39 is rotated about the longitudinal axis out ofalignment with the slot 78, then the rod 3% cannot be removed ordetached from the latch member 74.

The lower end of the rod 30 is provided with a notch area 84 having ahorizontal top edge 86 and an inclined lower edge 88 for engagement withan L-shaped latch member 90 secured to the lower portion of the doorfacing 28. The outer end of the latch member 99 is bifurcated asindicated by numeral 92 and provided with an inclined surface 94 forpermitting latching of the rod 30 in relation to the latches 90.Downward movement of the rod 30 will effect disconnection between therod 39 and the latch 90 due to alignment of the notches 84 with the slotor notch defined by the bifurcated end 92.

With the rod 39 in normal condition as urged by the spring 66, thecylindrical part of the rod 30 is engaged with the circular opening 80in the upper bracket or latch member 74 and a circular part of the lowerend of the rod '30 is received within the bifurcated end of the lowerlatch member 90. In this condition, the rod 30 will act as a hingestructure but when the handle 13 is elevated, the rod 30 will belowered. This brings into engagement the reduced extension 70 with theslot or notch 78 and correspondingly brings into alignment the recesses4 with the passageway defined by the bifurcated end of the lower latchmember 92 whereby the rod 30 may be moved laterally outwardly from theouter end of the latch elements 74 and 90 so that the door may be openedin the usual manner. When the door is closed, the normal closing orswinging movement of the door will be sufiicient to urge the rod backinto engagement with the latch members.

With both of the rods 30 in elevated position, the door will be lockedin closed position. When either one of the rods is depressed, this rodis disconnected and the door swung about the opposite rod. As soon asthe door starts swinging outwardly about one edge, the opposite rod 39cannot be operated to effect disconnection between the rod 30 and thecorresponding latch members since the greatest dimension of theextension 40 or that portion of the rod having the recesses 84 thereinis greater than the width of the entrance slot or notch forming thefurcations thereby precluding disengagement of the vertical rod 30 ifthe door has been swung outwardly from the opposite edge thereof. Inorder to further assure that both handles 16 and 1 8 are not operatedsimultaneously, a rod 96 connects the handles 16 and 18 and extendsunder a clip 98 whereby pivotal movement of one handle in one directionwill prevent movement of the other handle in the same direction. Withoutthe rod 96, both handles 16 and It; could be operated when the door wasclosed thereby permitting complete removal of the door if this isdesirable.

FIGURE 12 illustrates an arrangement in which the upper end of the rod39' is provided with an enlargement 1% having a tapered outer surfacefor engagement with the surface of the bore through the reinforcingmember as.

In using the door, the door may be opened from either one side edge orthe other by operating the proper handle so that the door may be used tothe best advantage and otherwise providing an assembly which is quiteeasily operated for use thereof with the door being hinged from eitherside.

Also, this method of engagement and disengagement is capable of singularuse, for example, one side of entire mechanism may be incorporated intosectional garage doors. This requires installation of the devicehorizontally and becomes means for latching the door which would be farsuperior to present latch structures. The latch assembly would beinstalled at a convenient height on a door section, for instance, belthigh or the like.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A door assembly comprising an enclosure with an opening defined by aperipheral edge, a pair of vertically spaced and aligned latch elementsmounted adjacent each edge of the opening, a closure door panel, acombined hinge and latch rod mounted vertically adjacent each edge ofthe door for detachable and hinged engagement with the latch elements,and a handle connected to each rod for vertically moving the rod forenabling detachment of the rod from the latch elements when the door isin closed position, said rods and latch elements including structuralmeans interconnecting the rods and the latch elements to preventdetachment of the rod from the latch elements when such rod is forming ahinge when the door is opened from the opposite edge, said meansincluding a slot-like notch in the outer end of each latch element, theinner end of the notch including an opening circular in configurationfor hingedly receiving the rod, said rod including reduced areas definedby parallel side walls adapted to 'be slidably received in the notchonly when the door is closing said opening and rotatably received withinthe opening at the inner end of the notch whereby the rod may bedisconnected from the latch elements when the side walls of the rod areparallel with the side edges of the notch for movement therethrough andprevented from being disconnected from the latch elements when the sidewalls of the rod are misaligned with the side walls of the notch wherebythe circular opening at the inner end of the notch will rotatablyreceive the rod, means interconnecting the rod and the door forpermitting axial sliding movement of the rod in relation to the door andpreventing rotation there of in relation to the door.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said handles areinterconnected by means on the door for preventing both handles frombeing moved outwardly to an unlatched position at the same time, saidmeans including a bar pivoted at its center and having ends overlappingthe handles, the pivot axes of both said handles and said bar all beingparallel.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the parallel side wallsof said reduced areas terminate in cam surfaces adapted to engage theouter ends of the latch elements when the door is closed whereby the rodelements are moved axially for aligning the notches and reduced portionsof the rods.

4. A closure latching assembly comprising a first pair of verticallyaligned and spaced latch elements, a second pair of vertically alignedand spaced latch elements, said first and second pair of latch elementsbeing horizontally spaced and aligned and adapted to be mounted atopposite edges of an opening, a closure panel adapted to close theopening, a vertically disposed hinge rod adjacent each side edge of theclosure panel for pivotal and detachable engagement with each pair ofsaid latch elements for opening the closure panel from either side whilethe opposite side is pivotally supported from the latch elements, saidrods being axially slidably mounted on said closure panel, a handle foreach of said rods for moving the rods longitudinally, means movablymounting said handles on said closure panel, means connecting saidhandles to said rods for independent operation of the rods, each of saidlatch elements having a notch extending inwardly from the outer endthereof, said notch terminating in a circular opening at the inner endthereof for slidably and rotatably receiving the rod, each of said rodshaving flattened side surfaces adjacent each end thereof for slidingmovement in the notch when in registry and alignment therewith forenabling disengagement of the rods from the latch elements, spring meansconnected to each of said rods for urging the flattened surfaces out ofregistry with the notch, and means interconnecting eaeh of said rods andthe closure panel for preventing relative rotation between the rods andthe closure panel thereby misaligning the flattened surfaces in relationto the notches at one side edge of the closure panel when the other edgeof the closure panel is swung outwardly to an open position.

References tilted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES FATENTS273,501 Forney Mar. 6, 1883 577,657 Herrmann Feb. 23, 1897 1,005,346Soule Oct. 10, 1911 1,484,372 Edwards Feb. 10, 1924 1,550,205 Cemazar 2.Aug. 18, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS 492,769 Great Britain Sept. 27, 1923

